A staggering 33,000 failed to turn up for GP appointments in Kent in just one month.

Now, one family GP surgery is calling on people to ensure they cancel unwanted slots so they can be offered to others.

Newton Place Surgery in Faversham, says almost 150 patients failed to attend for their appointments in just 10 days, prompting doctors to issue a complaint on its Facebook page.

"If you are unable to keep your appointment, please make every effort to cancel it in advance so that it may be offered to someone else," they say.

"Non-attendance and cancellations at short notice without a valid reason deprives other patients of essential medical services."

The post has sparked dozens of comments after being shared on the Faversham Matters Facebook page, with many branding those who didn't attend as "selfish and inconsiderate".

Sue Brockman added: "That's disgusting when the rest of us struggle to get face to face appointments - they should all be given a yellow card and warned of expulsion!"

"Absolutely shocking! Shame on those people," added Carole Morris.

Some, like Terry Wade and Carol Jones, even suggested there should be fines for 'offenders'.

But others criticise the lengthy delays in getting through to the surgery because of its automated answer phone system.

"Maybe if they answered the phone more people would be able to cancel," wrote John Quested.

"The wait is ridiculous. There’s no need for the long drawn out blurb," added Lizzy Bee.

"This is really thoughtless," said Chris Smith. "You can cancel an appointment without getting through to reception, just by leaving a message. Or why not just drop in and cancel? No wonder people have to wait for appointments. The surgery gives good text reminders too. There’s really no excuse."

The Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group, which manages GP services, has revealed there were 33,000 missed appointments at surgeries across the county during April.

And nationally, NHS statistics record that 40,000 GP appointments have been missed every day so far this year, leading to calls from some doctors for fines to be introduced.

The Faversham News has contacted the Newton Place surgery for further comment on the problem.

It is served by four full-time and nine part-time GPs.